As regular CFZ-watchers will know, for some time Corinna has been doing a column for Animals & Men and a regular segment on On The Track... particularly about out-of-place birds and rare vagrants. There seem to be more and more bird stories from all over the world hitting the news these days so, to make room for them all - and to give them all equal and worthy coverage - she has set up this new blog to cover all things feathery and Fortean.

Thursday, 7 January 2016

It's Time To Admit Birds Shouldn't Be Kept In Cages

In the pet world, dogs and cats get all the glory. They get the TV commercials, the Facebook likes, the Sarah McLachlan weepy soundtrack and the compassion of millions of average citizens and advocacy organizations trying to right the wrongs done to them. And yet, despite these big efforts, other folks keep doing a bang-up job of making so many animals' lives miserable.

So, imagine for a moment the plight of a pet who sits on the sidelines of all that attention. A pet who is almost entirely overlooked. Who lacks the rallying cry of thousands of GoFundMe petitions at a moment's notice. That, by many accounts, shouldn't even be a pet, but is nonetheless one of the most popular animals in the American household?

Welcome to the plight of the pet bird. Perhaps one of the saddest tales to tell.